Cook These Meatballs and You'll Like Michael Chernow

Well, you could look as sharp as the restauranteur who showed guys everywhere the best sub-$400 suits in the pages of GQ. The Meatball Shop co-owner and fitness enthusiast put together a healthy version of his restaurant chain’s foundation food for Equinox, launching at NYC locations this week. If you happen to be located outside of NY state lines, you can still get your tastebuds on the meatballs, as Chernow’s giving up his lean bison recipe that makes a satisfying meal almost as easy to make as it is to eat this way...

MEDITERRANEAN BISON BALLS

2 pounds lean ground bison

1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

1/8 cup chopped mint

1/4 chopped toasted almonds

1/4 chopped raisins

1 cup cooked saffron rice*

2 eggs

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons coarse salt

Make saffron rice (directions below). Can be done a day ahead. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Drizzle olive oil into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish; using your hand, evenly coat entire surface. Set aside. In a large bowl, use your hands to mix bison, parsley, mint, almonds, raisins, saffron rice, eggs, black pepper and salt until fully incorporated. Roll mixture into firmly packed 1 1/2-inch balls. Place meatballs in prepared baking dish, taking care to line them up snugly so that they are touching one another in even rows vertically and horizontally to form a grid. Transfer baking dish to oven. Bake until meatballs are firm and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a meatball reads 165 degrees.

Place all ingredients together in a small pot, bring to a boil, then simmer covered until all the water is absorbed. This will yield 1 cup cooked. Let cool before mixing in.

SAFFRON RICE

1/2 cup basmati rice

1 pinch saffron

1 cup water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon olive oil

Visit the Q by Equinox blog to find out more (plus the recipe for Chernow’s suggested sauce for the dish) and to learn more about The Meatball Shop owner, check out his 10 Essentials here.

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